The fuel saving modes of the '769 patent involve a step forward in the evolution of “skipping” technology. A skipped piston and cylinder is one that does not receive an injection of fuel during the injection stroke in which fuel would normally be injected. For the first time, the piston of the skipped piston and cylinder assembly actually enters into the creation of power rather than simply being neutral or requiring power from the rest of the engine to be moved through repeated cycles without cycle events taking place. The skipped piston enters into the creation of power by means of a passage between the combustion chambers of two paired assemblies. The increased pressure conditions in the cylinder of its paired assembly resulting from the internally fired power drive stroke therein is communicated by the passage to the skipped piston, causing it to undergo a simultaneous shared power drive stroke. Since the skipped piston is directly connected to the crankshaft, its shared power drive stroke creates power in the engine.
The '769 patent discloses several different engine configurations embodying the skipping advance including an opposed piston eight cylinder engine.
In the opposed piston eight cylinder engine disclosed in the '769 patent, two banks of four inline piston and cylinder assemblies each moving like a four cylinder engine. The two banks are configured in opposed inline relation to one another rather than in the more convenient V configuration. In each bank of four inline piston and cylinder assemblies, the side-by-side middle two which move together have their combustion chambers close enough to provide the passage necessary to achieve the shared power advancement during skipping. Consequently, there are two pairs out of a possible four which can operate on the advanced skipping/shared power.
The present invention has for one non-limiting object to provide an eight cylinder engine configuration which is in a convenient V configuration and provides the maximum four pairs of side-by-side piston and cylinder assemblies that can operate in accordance with the skipping principles of the '769 patent.